Addressing the Burden of Cancer Beyond Treatment

Cancer treatment is expensive. Only cancer treatments that are administered in a hospital setting in Canada are covered by government – and as a growing number of new treatment options become available to cancer patients, not all of these are covered by public, or private, insurance plans. In Canada, 1 in 3 cancer patients face financial distress, according to a recent report published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. In the United States, 3 out of 4 people with cancer worry about how they will pay for their cancer treatment and keep up with their day-to-day costs, according to the American Cancer Society.

Additionally, there are out-of-pocket costs for cancer patients to consider, with some estimates pegging the average out-of-pocket costs for cancer treatment in Canada to be as high as $600 per month per patient! Out of pocket costs can include medicines and supplies for managing the side effects of cancer such as over-the-counter painkillers, special foods or nutritional supplements, help with household tasks or homecare, and childcare or elder care if a cancer patient is the primary caregiver for other people. Many cancer patients also bear travel costs for their treatment, such as gas and parking, as well as lodging costs if they must travel long distances for their medical appointments.

Enter the Princess Margaret Lodge at 545 Jarvis Street, which provides affordable “home-away-from-home” lodging for cancer patients living outside the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) who are being treated at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre or Odette Cancer Centre at Sunnybrook Hospital. After four years of closure for complex renovations, as well as extensive infrastructure and amenity improvements, the Princess Margaret Lodge is re-opening today!! And thanks to our supporters, our revamped Lodge will now have 120 new beds, 63 bedrooms with individual bathrooms, and all new windows, walls, ceilings, tiles, flooring, plumbing, and electrical and mechanical equipment – in addition to Wi-Fi throughout the Lodge.

At the Princess Margaret Lodge, the average length of stay per patient is a staggering 6-8 weeks, usually for radiation treatment. Princess Margaret Cancer Centre has the largest single-site radiation medicine program in North America, one of the best radiation medicine programs globally, and several world-firsts in radiation therapy. This is a critical contribution to the cancer field, as half of all cancer patients require radiation services as part of their treatment. And for $30 a day, residents of the Lodge receive three catered meals, as well as free shuttle bus service to their appointments. Finally, the Lodge now includes a billiards room, a wellness room for meditation and prayer, a music room, a fitness room, and an outdoor terrace – all within a safe and supportive community of other cancer patients and their family members, with the option to participate in bingo, music, and craft nights that are a welcome distraction from cancer treatments.

In a city as expensive as Toronto, affordable lodging for cancer patients has never been more important. Last year, the average rate for hotel stays in downtown Toronto was $322 a night, reflecting a 10 to 11 per cent increase from 2022, with prices expected to rise a further 6.7 per cent this year, according to American Express Global Business Travel’s Hotel Monitor 2024. But thanks to support from our donors, the daily cost to stay at Princess Margaret Lodge is one-tenth (or less) of an average night’s hotel stay in Canada’s largest city!

Of course, at The Princess Margaret, we have long known that dealing with a cancer diagnosis is difficult enough.?Our Lodge first opened its doors in 1957 and is a model that has since been replicated around the world, with the first Ronald McDonald House opening in Canada in 1981. Many people with cancer worry about how they will manage the costs of cancer treatment, and reducing the cost of lodging and travel to appointments for patients from outside the GTA contributes significantly to easing the financial burden associated with cancer for many patients and their families.

After all, the burden of cancer is not just cancer – and at The Princess Margaret, we believe that people with cancer should not have to face additional challenges and anxiety trying to access their treatment.

Mission Monday will return on Monday, May 6th.

Miyo

• Know someone from out of town scheduled for cancer treatment services at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre or the Odette Cancer Centre at Sunnybrook Hospital who would benefit from the Lodge? Information on the Princess Margaret Lodge is available here.
• Check out these pics as the team readies the Lodge for the arrival of patients today! See the photos of Slobodanka Antic (Princess Margaret Lodge Manager) with Pedro Miguel Brazao and Getenet Alemu from the Lodge’s Environmental Services Team.
• We are looking to landscape the Lodge, including providing new furniture for the outdoor terrace. Read more in this article in Forbes about Why Hospitals Are Planting Gardens. To donate to the Princess Margaret Lodge, click here. To donate to the Max Tanenbaum Healing Garden at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, click here.
• Get ready for: The Ride on Saturday, June 8th and Sunday, June 9th, Canada’s largest cycle fundraising event. Help us reach our 2024 fundraising goal of $20 million under the leadership of our 2024 Honorary Chair, Som Seif. To donate to the Ride to Conquer Cancer, click here.